Chinese premier defends death penalty

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier of the State Council of the PeopleÕs Republic of China Li Keqiang hold a joint press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. iPolitics/Matthew Usherwood

Opponents of Canada’s plans to explore an extradition treaty with China received little reassurance from Premier Li Keqiang Thursday following his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.

Amid growing concern that an extradition treaty with China would result in the deportation of Chinese nationals to possible execution, the second-most powerful man in China defended the death penalty and offered little assurance it would not be applied in cases of extradition.

“It is consistent with our national conditions,” said Li, when asked by a Canadian reporter what could happen to Chinese nationals extradited to China under such a treaty. “If we abolish the death penalty, more innocent people will probably lose their lives.”

China’s use of the death penalty and heavy-handed prosecution of political dissidents has raised serious questions over the past several weeks in light of the news that Trudeau intends to pursue an extradition treaty with the country.

Under international law, it is illegal for Canada to extradite individuals to places where they could face the death penalty or torture.

Bejing is reportedly in the midst of an international hunt for economic fugitives under the guise of what it deems ‘Operation Fox Hunt’ and is believed to have dispatched agents to pressure Chinese nationals with suspected links to corruption to return home.

Reuters published a report on Monday from China’s Xinhua news agency saying the country has repatriated its first fugitive from France under the extradition signed between France and China in 2015.

When asked about the use of agents to pressure Chinese nationals to return, Li said he was not familiar with the reports.

“I have not seen any kind of report of the one you mention,” he said.

However, Li offered little in the way of a guarantee that Chinese nationals extradited back will receive fair treatment.

“I cannot provide 100 per cent that every link, every region, every person every time they receive fair treatment,” Li said, noting that when officials hear of cases where a person has not been treated fairly they will be dealt with. “The effort to build a law-based China will take time.”

Trudeau also responded to the same question, saying Canada has a “long-standing position” of not extraditing to places where an individual would face the death penalty.

He said that, so far, the discussions with China on matters of extradition have been “ad hoc” and that having a dialogue to pursue the discussion more formally will allow them to build on that.

“We recognize that Canada and China have different systems of law and order and different approaches and it’ll be very important that any future agreement be based on reflecting the realities, the principles, the values that our citizens hold dear in each of our countries,” Trudeau said. “That is clearly understood as we move forward on a broad range of issues.”

Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose has accused Trudeau of being “shockingly naive” when it comes to his decision to pursue closer ties with China.

The government, however, defends the decision as a means to further its scope of influence and facilitate greater conversations about improving human rights in the country.

Since the recent release of Canadian Kevin Garratt from Chinese custody, some have speculated that may have been tied to Canada agreeing to a formal dialogue on extradition.

Garratt, who had been detained for two years on widely-condemned allegations of spying, was deported back to Canada last week.

The Chinese premier departs for Montreal Thursday night before returning to China on Friday.